Patna: India is preparing to launch a second major bullet train corridor, this time connecting Delhi and Howrah, with a top speed of 350 km/h. The project, which follows the ongoing Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail line, aims to drastically cut travel time between key northern and eastern cities, including Patna.
The proposed 1,669km corridor will reduce the travel time between Delhi and Patna (1,078km) to under four hours. The remaining 578km stretch from Patna to Howrah is expected to take just two hours, making the full journey possible in six and a half hours.
The route will feature nine stations in total: starting from Delhi, the train will stop at Agra Cantt, Kanpur Central, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Patna, Asansol, and finally, Howrah in West Bengal.
The survey for the Delhi-Howrah corridor has already been completed in Bihar, and the findings have been submitted to the Ministry of Railways. Construction will be carried out in two phases — the first from Delhi to Varanasi, followed by the second phase from Varanasi to Howrah.
A 60km elevated track is also planned in Patna to accommodate the high-speed service. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 5 lakh crore (£470 billion), making it one of the most ambitious infrastructure undertakings in the country’s rail history.
This new line builds on India’s wider ambitions to modernise its rail infrastructure, following the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, which remains under rapid construction and is expected to begin operations soon.
